News Room

Supporting Innovation and Workforce Development

College of the North Atlantic to Host Province’s Workforce Innovation Centre

2/24/2017 3:23:08 PM

The Honourable Dwight Ball, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, was at College of the North Atlantic’s Corner Brook campus today to announce the establishment of a $1.8 million Workforce Innovation Centre. The centre will be funded through the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Market Development Agreement.

The Provincial Government is establishing a new Workforce Innovation Centre at College of the North Atlantic’s Corner Brook campus. The centre will support and fund activities, research, designs and projects that demonstrate innovation and identify methods to better assists individuals prepare for, find, return to, or maintain sustainable employment.

“By using progressive research and leading-edge innovation, College of the North Atlantic’s Workforce Innovation Centre will help set us on a new path of discovery. Through fostering and establishing partnerships throughout our communities that support a spirit of innovation, we will explore new ways of delivering workforce development that support a strong economy in rural and urban parts of the province.”
- The Honourable Dwight Ball, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador

The Workforce Innovation Centre is supported by $1.8 million in funding from the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Market Development Agreement. Start-up funding of $300,000 will be used to establish the centre’s office on campus, with $1.5 million allocated to successful proponents of accepted projects following a public call for proposals in spring 2017.

“In The Way Forward, we commit to have College of the North Atlantic and its 17 campuses serve as local and regional economic generators and community hubs. The establishment of a Workforce Innovation Centre firmly supports this government’s vision for the college’s role as a centre for entrepreneurship, innovation, research and development, community access and capacity building.”
- The Honourable Gerry Byrne, Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour

Eligible organizations who may apply to the Workforce Innovation Centre for funding may include, but not be limited to:

Businesses

Labour organizations

Non-profit organizations

Crown Corporations

Municipalities

Bands/Aboriginal organizations

Health authorities

School boards and

Post-secondary institutions

“College of the North Atlantic has developed extensive partnerships and programming that make it an ideal fit for the Workforce Innovation Centre. With its clear focus on workforce development, this centre will also build on and support the work being carried out at our Navigate Entrepreneurship Centre, which promotes entrepreneurship in collaboration with Memorial University of Newfoundland and established businesses. This pairing of entrepreneurship and workforce development will further establish the college as a powerful force for economic development throughout the province.”
- Bob Gardiner, CNA Interim President

The Way Forward: A Vision for Sustainability and Growth in Newfoundland and Labrador guides Provincial Government actions to achieve greater efficiency, strengthen the province's economic foundation, enhance services, and improve outcomes to promote a healthy and prosperous province.

The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Market Development Agreement, valued at $130.5M in federal funding, provides employment and training programs and services to: assist individuals to prepare for, find, and keep employment; assist employers in accessing the workers they need; and help ensure communities and regions are equipped to respond to labour market opportunities and challenges.

QUICK FACTS

College of the North Atlantic’s Corner Brook campus will be the location for a Workforce Innovation Centre that will partner with business and community groups and agencies to foster innovative approaches and create new opportunities to support the development of a skilled workforce to build a stronger economic foundation.

The Workforce Innovation Centre is supported by $1.8 million in funding from the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Market Development Agreement.

Some of the funding will be used to establish the Workforce Innovation Centre on campus, with the majority allocated to successful proponents of accepted projects following a public call for proposals in spring 2017.